Lake Chargoggagoggmanchauggagoggchaubunagungamaugg

[Michael McKernan]

  My father, who grew up in eastern Massachusetts (b.1924) often spoke
of this lake, translating the name as:  "You fish on your side of the
lake, we fish on our side of the lake, nobody fish in the middle of the
lake."  Seems like it might be a more accurate translation than the
seemingly literal one quoted below.

  Michael McKernan

  Benson, Arizona Quoting Tom Zurinskas <truespel at HOTMAIL.COM>:

> ---------------------- Information from the mail header
> -----------------------
> Sender:       American Dialect Society <aDS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Poster:       Tom Zurinskas <truespel at HOTMAIL.COM>
> Subject:      Lake Chargoggagoggmanchauggagoggchaubunagungamaugg
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> from
>
> http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/howaboutthat/5198455/Longest-place-name-in-US-spelt-wrongly.html
>
> The longest place name in the United States, Lake
> Chargoggagoggmanchauggagoggchaubunagungamaugg.
> By Sarah Knapton    Last Updated: 12:10PM BST 22 Apr 2009
>
> The lake in Webster, Massachusetts - known as Webster Lake for short
> - was always going to be a challenge for sign writers. But after
> researching historical spelling combinations, the local newspaper the
> Telegram & Gazette of Worcester said local Chamber of Commerce
> officials agreed that some some signs at the lake were wrong.  There
> was an "o" at letter 20 where a "u" should have been, and an "h" at
> letter 38 where an "n" should go.
> The name comes from the language of the local Nipmuck tribe and
> translates to "Englishmen at Manchaug at the fishing place at the
> boundary although" and was applied in the 19th century when White
> people built factories in the area.
> The stretch of water has several alternative names is also shortened
> to Lake Chaubunagungamaug to avoid the 45 letter tongue twister.
> Lake Chargoggagoggmanchauggagoggchaubunagungamaugg, the full-length
> version of the name, is the longest place name in the United States
> and 6th longest in the world. Its 17 uses of "g" are the most
> instances of any letter in a word. The name also contains 10
> instances of the letter "a" (not including the "a" in "lake"), more
> than any word in the English language.
>
> TZ – Note that there are three “awe” vowels in there.  Those
> “awe-droppers” (who have dropped the phoneme “awe” and replace it
> with “ah”) would not be saying this word right.  But then again, who
> does.  Probably only Nipmucks.
> How would that be spelled phonetically?
> Char-GOG-uh-gog---man-CHAW-guh-gog---chaw-BUN-uh-GUN-guh-mawg.
> ~chaarggaagugaagmancchaugugaagchaubbunugungumaug.
>
>
> Tom Zurinskas, USA - CT20, TN3, NJ33, FL5+
> see truespel.com
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